Fastpitch: Lake Stevens defeats Oak Harbor

Lake Stevens tripped up the Oak Harbor fastpitch team in a nonleague game 5-1 at Hillcrest Elementary School Monday, April 18.

Alia Kelly and Rain Sylvester combined to pitch a three-hitter for the Vikings. The pair didn't overpower the Wildcat hitters, striking out only two, but they allowed just two walks and were supported by an errorless defense.

Oak Harbor coach Jess Weikle said, "We hit the ball hard, just right at people."

Shawna Steele collected two of the Oak Harbor hits and added a stolen base. Abby Rankin rapped the other hit and drove in the lone Wildcat run.

The Wildcats scored their run in the seventh on Rankin's sacrifice fly that followed walks to Emily Hunt and Alex Kaipat.

Lake Stevens (5-4) scored three runs in the first inning and single runs in the fifth and sixth. The Vikings had eight hits and were aided by six walks from starting pitcher Amanda Pavey.

Weikle said, in regard to her pitchers, "We weren't hitting our spots; we weren't comfortable in the zone."

On a positive note for Oak Harbor, the Wildcats did not commit any errors. Poor defense has haunted the 'Cats all season. Weikle said, "One of our biggest hurdles has been infield errors."

She said the move of Morgan Young from center field to short stop two games ago has helped solidify the infield.

Weikle said her team is making progress, but "it's still trying to be competitive." She added, "It's a huge learning curve on how to be competitive."

Oak Harbor (1-9, 1-6) jumps back into Wesco 3A play Tuesday, April 19, at home with Everett (8-2, 4-1) at 4 p.m. The Wildcats play Snohomish (5-4, 3-4) in another nonleague game Friday at Hillcrest Elementary School at 4 p.m.

Contact Whidbey News Times Sports editor Jim Waller at jwaller@whidbeynewsgroup.com or 360-675-6611 ext. 5060.

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